1.
Mental
Models &
Conceptual
Models

2.
2

3.
Project Eat Fresh
Startup hires YOU to design their new site/App!
Their concept: the farmer’s market delivered to your door!
You will make
– A concept model for the site & for customers
– A report of top ten findings from user research
– An IA (navigation and finding sytem)
– Design two key flows
– Design homepage and a product page
3

4.
4
HOW
DO USERS
THINK?

5.
5
EXERCISE
DRAW A MAP
FOR A
GROCERY
STORE

6.
6
EXERCISE
SHARE

7.
USERS HAVE SURPRISING
MENTAL MODELS.

8.
EXERCISE
10 MINS
1.Work in a pair
2.Interview each other on how the shop for
food and sundries, 5 minutes each
3.Note what you hear
4.Ask about WHAT, WHY and HOW.
• What do they want?
• Why do the want it?
• How do they find it?
• How often do you shop
How do
you shop
for
groceries?

9.
EXERCISE
1.Regroup into new teams of four
2.Combine your post its with the group
3.Sort into patterns.. Behavior, items
sought, etc
4.Place in empathy map
How do
you shop?
10 MINS
http://answers.oreilly.com/topic/1860-gamestorming-empathy-map/

10.
EXERCISE
SHARE

11.
DOES SAFEWAY
SUPPORT
YOUR
TASKS?

12.
DOES WHOLE FOODS
SUPPORT
YOUR
TASKS?

13.
DOES AMAZON
SUPPORT
YOUR
TASKS?

14.
DOES TRADER JOES
SUPPORT
YOUR
TASKS?

15.
MENTAL MODELS
Behavioral Conflicting
Incomplete

16.
1
A GAP ANALYSIS
HOW COULD
WE MAKE A
BETTER
GROCERY SITE?

17.
First:
sort tasks into groups and name them
‣ From Indi Young’s Mental Models

18.
Next: Gap Analysis! map current content and features to the
tasks
‣ From Indi Young’s Mental Models

19.
Next: identify opportunities
‣ From Indi Young’s Mental Models

20.
Next: fill opportunities, or chose to ignore
‣ From Indi Young’s Mental Models
Outfit
picker
Casual
carpool

21.
EXERCISE
MENTAL
MODELS

22.
EXERCISE
30
MINUTES
1.Work in your teams
2.Each take a grocery store site and spend
10 minutes creating inventory of products
on post its
3.Now map the products to the tasks
PENCIL
PAPER
OBJECTIVES

23.
COMMUNICATE
USING
CONCEPTUAL
MODELS

24.
2
We explain things with pictures
all the time. How to conceive,
how to build…

25.
CONCEPT MODEL: a
visual representation of a
set of ideas that clarifies
their meaning for both the
thinker and the audience
2

26.
2

27.
CONCEPTUAL MODELS TO
COMMUNICATE TO TEAM
2

28.
User
Designer
Computer designed by Daniel Shannonfrom The Noun Project
Mental model
Conceptual
model
1. Discover
Mental Model
2. Understand
system
3. Synthesize into
conceptual model
System

29.
2

30.
Overview of key areas and subareas of
Via Andrew Hinton
@inkblurt
Made for University of
Michigan

31.
How areas of site interlock
Via Andrew Hinton
@inkblurt
Consider conceptual
models over sitemaps

32.
EXERCISE
20
MINUTES
Individual
1.Draw a conceptual model for the key areas
of the grocery store site, and how they are
related to each other
2.Use size, color and shape to communicate.
You may want to do a quick sketch first,
then a second fuller drawing.
PENCIL
PAPER

33.
Conceptual
Models to
Communicate to
Customers

34.
‣ A conceptual model for
understanding the Gulf of
Mexico Estuaries
‣ Shows how the essential
systems are intertwingled.
‣ Conceptual models take what
users knows and how the
system actually works, and
builds a bridge between the two
so the user can understand.A conceptual model for understanding the Gulf of Mexico Estuaries
http://gulfsci.usgs.gov/tampabay/reports/white/model.html

35.
A conceptual
model for
explaining a
service (mint,
roundbuzz)

36.
Another style of
conceptual models
used to explain “how
to”

37.
3http://www.upworthy.com/privacy

38.
4
GOAL

39.
WHO DO
employees
- Estimate
better
- Deliver
consistently

40.
INVENTORY
IDEAS

41.
UNPACK IDEAS

42.
46CONSIDER
RELATIONSHIPS

43.
47

44.
ITERATE

45.
49
TEST

46.
5
STUDIO
CREATE
MENTAL &
CONCEPTUAL
MODELS

47.
Draw a conceptual model for what can be done on your food
delivery site.

48.
Break out
‣ Break into teams of six
‣ Compare concept models
‣ Discuss your project
‣ Make a plan

49.
53

50.
5
Q&A
HEADER

51.
APPENDIX

52.
notes
‣ This class is rather long. With exercises 3-4 hours. I removed the Indi
Young Gap Analysis exercise to get it to two hours.
‣ Consider breaking to two classes, one on mental models and one on
concept models, each two hours
‣ Concept model is very hard to teach how to do. Support with videos.
‣ http://www.davegrayinfo.com/visual-thinking-school/ Have class
“play along” step by step.
‣ Prerequisite of concept models is a sketching 101 class.
‣ Comparing concept models seemed to help prep class for discussing
project.